Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR219 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. RES. 219
5	5	Recognizing the contributions of the Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship
6	6	Program, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship
7	7	Program, the William D. Clarke, Sr. Diplomatic Security Fellowship,
8	8	and the Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellow-
9	9	ship Program to advance America’s national security, development, and
10	10	diplomacy efforts.
11	11	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
12	12	MARCH11, 2025
13	13	Mr. M
14	14	EEKS(for himself, Ms. CLARKEof New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Ms.
15	15	M
16	16	ENG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
17	17	Committee on Foreign Affairs
18	18	RESOLUTION
19	19	Recognizing the contributions of the Charles B. Rangel Grad-
20	20	uate Fellowship Program, the Thomas R. Pickering For-
21	21	eign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program, the William
22	22	D. Clarke, Sr. Diplomatic Security Fellowship, and the
23	23	Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate
24	24	Fellowship Program to advance America’s national secu-
25	25	rity, development, and diplomacy efforts.
26	26	Whereas the Department of State, the United States Agency
27	27	for International Development (USAID), and other for-
28	28	eign affairs agencies require a workforce with diverse tal-
29	29	ents, skills, and experiences to effectively protect United
30	30	States citizens abroad, expand commercial opportunities
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33	33	•HRES 219 IH
34	34	for United States businesses, and administer United
35	35	States foreign policy;
36	36	Whereas Congress has required in statute and the Depart-
37	37	ment of State and USAID have committed to recruit,
38	38	hire, and retain a workforce on the basis of merit prin-
39	39	ciples that reflects the diverse backgrounds of the Amer-
40	40	ican people they represent abroad;
41	41	Whereas, in 1990, Congress amended the State Department
42	42	Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (Public Law 84–885) to
43	43	authorize the Secretary of State to make grants to post-
44	44	secondary educational institutions or students to increase
45	45	knowledge of and interest in employment with the For-
46	46	eign Service, with a special focus on minority students,
47	47	broadening recruitment and retention efforts in order to
48	48	ensure equal opportunity and draw on the strength of all
49	49	United States citizens;
50	50	Whereas, pursuant to these authorities, the Department of
51	51	State launched the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs
52	52	Fellowship, the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs
53	53	Program, and the William D. Clarke, Sr. Diplomatic Se-
54	54	curity Fellowship in 1992, 2002, and 2023, respectively;
55	55	Whereas these programs increase the inclusion of Pell-eligible
56	56	and first-generation college graduates in the Foreign
57	57	Service, with a majority of current fellows having been
58	58	Pell grant recipients;
59	59	Whereas the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Grad-
60	60	uate Fellowship Program and the Thomas R. Pickering
61	61	Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program—the Department of
62	62	State’s flagship initiatives to recruit top-tier talent—are
63	63	merit-based, need-based, and highly competitive, with an
64	64	annual acceptance rate under 5 percent;
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67	67	•HRES 219 IH
68	68	Whereas all fellows pass the same rigorous selection, hiring,
69	69	and security clearance process as all other members of
70	70	the Foreign Service;
71	71	Whereas research shows that developing a workforce rep-
72	72	resenting all of America significantly contributes to bet-
73	73	ter national security outcomes by providing a wider range
74	74	of perspectives, experiences, and cultural understanding,
75	75	enabling more effective threat identification, innovative
76	76	solutions, and stronger diplomatic engagement across the
77	77	globe;
78	78	Whereas international affairs fellowships that promote the
79	79	employment of candidates who belong to historically ex-
80	80	cluded groups and with a financial need, including the
81	81	Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellow-
82	82	ship Program, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs
83	83	Fellowship Program, the William D. Clarke, Sr. Diplo-
84	84	matic Security Fellowship, and the Donald M. Payne
85	85	International Development Fellowship Program, rep-
86	86	resent smart investments vital for building a strong,
87	87	merit-based, capable, and diverse national security work-
88	88	force;
89	89	Whereas Congress, on a bipartisan basis, has authorized each
90	90	of these fellowship programs recognizing their importance
91	91	in expanding merit- and need-based recruitment from a
92	92	wide geographic and economically diverse talent pool, in-
93	93	cluding from all 50 States and more than 500 institu-
94	94	tions of higher education;
95	95	Whereas Historically Black Colleges and Universities, His-
96	96	panic-serving institutions, other minority-serving institu-
97	97	tions and other institutions of higher education, including
98	98	community colleges and trade schools, serve populations
99	99	historically excluded from the Department of State or
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102	102	•HRES 219 IH
103	103	USAID and prepare the next generation of international
104	104	affairs professionals with the core skills necessary to
105	105	meet the United States global diplomatic and develop-
106	106	ment imperatives; and
107	107	Whereas the Secretary of State and Administrator of USAID
108	108	are required by law to consult with Congress before tak-
109	109	ing steps to modify these programs: Now, therefore, be
110	110	it
111	111	Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
112	112	(1) recognizes the importance of efforts to re-2
113	113	cruit, hire, and retain employees from the broadest 3
114	114	talent pool for United States foreign affairs agencies 4
115	115	in order for the United States to be globally com-5
116	116	petitive and ensure that our diplomatic and develop-6
117	117	ment agencies remain the best in the world; 7
118	118	(2) reaffirms that the Charles B. Rangel Grad-8
119	119	uate Fellowship Program, Thomas R. Pickering For-9
120	120	eign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program, William 10
121	121	D. Clarke Sr. Diplomatic Security Fellowship, and 11
122	122	Donald M. Payne International Development Grad-12
123	123	uate Fellowship Program are statutorily mandated 13
124	124	programs enacted into law by Congress on a bipar-14
125	125	tisan basis to address recognized issues of exclusion 15
126	126	for women and racial and ethnic minority groups as 16
127	127	well as economically disadvantaged and rural popu-17
128	128	lations plaguing the Department of State and 18
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131	131	•HRES 219 IH
132	132	United States Agency for International Development 1
133	133	for decades; 2
134	134	(3) underscores the importance of international 3
135	135	affairs fellowships and similar career entry programs 4
136	136	to United States national security and foreign policy; 5
137	137	and 6
138	138	(4) recognizes the substantial United States 7
139	139	taxpayer investment in ensuring the Department of 8
140	140	State and United States Agency for International 9
141	141	Development can recruit top talent from across the 10
142	142	country, provide them with critical training, and 11
143	143	strengthen America’s development and diplomatic 12
144	144	capabilities—efforts that are undermined by at-13
145	145	tempts to dismantle these programs, wasting tax-14
146	146	payer resources and weakening national security. 15
147	147	Æ
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